


Won't Give Up

by bloodstainedpurplehoodie



Series: Critical Role One-Shots/Drabbles [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 02:07:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19097578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodstainedpurplehoodie/pseuds/bloodstainedpurplehoodie
Summary: Widomauk Week Day 2: GivingA creaking noise made Caleb look up once again. Mollymauk sat on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his hands, with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Caleb swallowed the lump growing in his throat. Why did this even matter so much to him? What was he to gain from being here, other than to humor himself? But he just had to know.“Why are you always giving things away?”





	Won't Give Up

Mollymauk was constantly giving things away. Whether it was gold, magical weapons, wisdom, it was constant. He gave away things as if he was going to die within the next day or so. That assumption unnerved Caleb to the point where he started to pay extra attention to the dealings of the tiefling. 

He started to categorize how much he gave away and when, keeping a mental log. There seemed to be a pattern after a while. When they were about to head into something dangerous, Molly gave away more kisses and gentle touches. Time sensitive issues involved more passing of gold. Kids were he weak spot when it came to money. Any beggar child they came across usually left with enough gold to last them a while. Caleb didn’t mind. It wasn’t his gold after all. And the others didn’t seem to notice nor care if they did. He wasn’t harming anyone. It was just . . . peculiar. 

A few times Caleb thought about asking. Something stopped him, usually the group moving too fast onto the next thing for him to get a word in. When they finally did have some time for themselves, Molly stole away to go sleep or whatever it is he does to relax. Over time, the curiosity began to burn inside of Caleb. He had to do something. 

They were in some inn they found on the road, tired from traveling for two days straight. A comfy bed and already prepared food was surely in order. Mollymauk offered to pay for everyone as well as room service. That’s what reminded Caleb about that conversation he’s been dying to have. 

Everyone retreated to their respective rooms for a good night’s rest. Caleb waited for everyone to settle down before making his way down the hall to where Molly insisted on having his own room. He sent a silent prayer to the Archheart that he wouldn’t stumble upon something that would take at least a month to forget. He knocked softly on the door.

“It’s unlocked.” 

Caleb paused before entering. It wasn’t too far out of character for Molly to leave the door unlocked, especially if he was expecting company. And if he was, Caleb certainly didn’t want to get caught in the middle of something. Yet there was still that burning the back of his mind. 

“It’s Caleb.” 

What sounded like a laugh answered from the other side. “I said it’s unlocked.”

Taking a deep breath, Caleb twisted the knob slowly and entered. There was a dim light coming from a lamp on the bedside. A chill swept through the room from the opened window. Mollymauk’s back was to him, facing the opened window with his scimitars laid out on the ground in front of him. Caleb never got a good look at his tattoos until now. The pyramid with the eye in the center seemed to stare back at him with the same inferno of curiosity. 

Caleb closed the door behind him and waited a moment. This was probably worse than interrupting any companionship. A few more minutes passed before Molly eventually stood up. He placed his swords leaning up against the bed, shut the window, and finally turned to face him. Caleb looked anywhere but his face. Instinctively, he began to fidget with the sleeves of his coat, giving an awkward cough. 

“I hope this isn’t a, uh, a bad time-”

“For you Mr. Caleb? Never.” Caleb looked up to see that wicked grin. He coughed again before training his eyes on a dark spot on the floor near his boot. Maybe he made a mistake. 

“I’ve bin – been – my curiosity has been peaked by your, your behavior recently and I’ve . . I’ve been wondering about something,” he stuttered out. “Of course, if this ist – is, is a bad time, we can talk about this, this later.”

There was a pause and Caleb thought that maybe he should just turn around and head back to Nott. If she were to wake up now, she might be worried about where he went. Before he could decide, there was a soft laugh from the other side of the room. There was no malice in it, just a genuine soft laugh.

“Well now you have my own curiosity peaked.” 

A creaking noise made Caleb look up once again. Mollymauk sat on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his hands, with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Caleb swallowed the lump growing in his throat. Why did this even matter so much to him? What was he to gain from being here, other than to humor himself? But he just had to know. 

“Why are you always giving things away?” 

The question hung in the air. Caleb couldn’t tell if Mollymauk was thinking or trying not to laugh. He had to look away from his eyes and instead studied the rest of his face. His eyebrows scrunched down as he pursed his lips. 

“Huh. Out of all of you, I expected Fjord to be the first to notice,” he whispered. 

“It’s a, a uh, a conscious thing?” 

“Of course it’s a conscious thing.” There was another laugh but there was less of that gentleness from earlier. It seemed forced. 

“I’m not . . . I won’t press you,” Caleb said quickly. “Du – you don’t have to, to explain if it’s not something you’re comfortable with.”

Molly waved a dismissive hand with a sigh. “No, no, it’s quite alright. Again, I’m just surprised Fjord wasn’t the first to say something. I’ve been planning this while conversation in my head. No offense, of course. I just didn’t plan for you.”

Caleb took a few steps forward, hands furiously picking at his coat. This conversation was only fueling his need to know the answer. More questions began to course through his mind. He took a moment to sort them out, prioritizing which to ask first and how to word them. The last thing he wanted was to Mollymauk to shut down before he got what he came here before. Then again, he also didn’t want to pressure his friend to become even more of an enigma. 

“I give things away because there are people who need it more than me. And if I were to, well, die with a lot, it would mean nothing. I would just be a corpse with too much gold. I always have exactly as much as I need.”

“Is there something you, you won’t give up?” 

There was another deafening pause. Caleb thought maybe this was the one question that would stop this conversation. He tried to pick his next words carefully and it cost him. For a while, there was nothing but the soft wind outside. Before Caleb could turn around to leave, Mollymauk finally answered. 

“Yes, there is one thing. There’s always one thing someone will never give up.” His voice was the softest Caleb has ever heard it be. Again, this posed more questions. He decided to mentally file them away for a later date and another midnight conversation. Mollymauk stood up from the bed.

“There are a lot of things I’ll give up, darling,” he started, making his way towards Caleb. He stayed where he was, keeping his eyes on the ground. “I’ll give up my gold, my coat, and if the needs calls, my life. But the one thing I will never give up, no matter what, are my friends, the rest of the Nein, and especially you.”

Caleb almost jumped at the hand on his shoulder, his skin burning underneath Mollymauk’s touch through the fabric. He wanted to look up, to meet that ruby stare, but couldn’t. Molly must’ve known this. He didn’t try to get Caleb to look at him like so many do. The hand squeezed his shoulder in comfort. 

“Now, is your curiosity satisfied?” 

“For, for now, ja.” Caleb swallowed again. 

“Good. Glad I could be of some assistance.” Although he didn’t see it, Caleb could hear the smile in his voice. “To satisfy my own curiosity, I have a question for you. What’s the one thing you won’t give up, no matter what?”  
On reflex, Caleb snapped his head up. While there was a smirk on Mollymauk’s face, the rest of his expression was kind. Something compelled Caleb to lift his hand up. It stayed there for a while between the two of them, fingers trembling, before slowly coming to rest on Molly’s chest above his heart. The smirk faltered before resting into a small smile. 

His hand moved to cover Caleb’s.


End file.
